Okaloosa County BOCC — August 2, 2016 — proposed Water & Sewer Ordinance (tracked changes version) — reading text

April of 1985, for which no physical connection has been made to the Okaloosa County Water and/or Sewer System, may be used toward payment of capacity expansion charges for new construction projects. Each of the non-site specific capacity expansion charges sold by Okaloosa County between March of 1982 and April of 1985, for which no physical connection has been made to the Okaloosa County Water and/or Sewer System shall be valued at one equivalent residential unit (ERU) based on the charges in effect at the time of the passage of this article as listed in Appendix A. This value shall be applied as a credit toward the payment of any applicable water or sewer capacity expansion charges. The ERU credit value for Page 36 of 118 these non-site specific capacity expansion charges shall be permanently fixed at the price in effect at the time of the passage of this article and shall never increase. Sec. 24-174. - User classification. Where a Commercial User and Residential User are billed through the same meter, the account will be billed as a commercial account. Sec. 24-175. - Collection fees. A five percent collection fee will be charged to all other agencies or entities for which the Board bills and collects from Customers. Sec. 24-176. - Hold harmless. The Customer accepts responsibility for the interior plumbing being in proper working order and turned off when requesting new service or reconnection of water service. The Customer expressly assumes responsibility and all liability for any damage to the premises and to any damage that may occur to the property of others. The Customer will indemnify and hold harmless the Board and its representatives for any resulting damage to the owner and/or tenant's premises and the real and personal property of others due to the aforementioned turning on of service at the water meter. Sec. 24-177. - Construction water. Water used for construction purposes shall be metered and shall be billed in accordance with the "potable water charges" as specified in Appendix A. If sewer is available as defined in this article, usage shall be billed in accordance with the "sanitary sewer charges" as specified in Appendix A. Such billing for sewer is to commence 120 days from the meter set date. Sec. 24-178. - Fire hydrant meters. Fire hydrants shall be operated only by the employees of the water department and employees of legal fire districts approved by the Board, in the proper exercise of their duties. Temporary use of fire hydrants by other persons, corporations or entities shall only be permitted with the approval of the Director of the water department and only after the installation by water department employees of a fire hydrant meter and approved backflow prevention assembly. A deposit and set charge in the amount specified in Appendix A must be paid in advance of the installation. Consumption charges shall be billed in accordance with the "potable water charges" as specified in Appendix A. Sec. 24-179. - Customer Adjustments. Formatted: Font: Bold For residential users, in the case of a water leak, adjustments to monthly billing may occur on a case-by-case basis, as determined by the Director, or his/her designee. Adjustments for commercial users will be per the provisions of written policy adopted by the Board on July 1, 2008. Secs. 24-18079. - 24-190. - Reserved. Page 37 of 118  DIVISION 4. - FIRE AND IRRIGATION WATER SERVICE RATES Sec. 24-191. - Irrigation sprinkler system. Sec. 24-192. - Reclaimed water. Sec. 24-193. - Fire line connections. Secs. 24-194—24-210. - Reserved. Sec. 24-191. - Irrigation sprinkler system. The rates charged for irrigation systems shall be the standard water and sewer rates for the appropriate customer class, as specified in Appendix A—User Charge Tables For Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance. Separate water meters for irrigation purposes are prohibited, except for residential single family customers meeting all of the following strict conditions: (1) That the Customer shall have both water and sewer service provided by Okaloosa County Water and Sewer. (2) That the Customer shall provide written documentation that they cannot install an irrigation well utilizing the sand and gravel aquifer. This shall consist of a notarized written statement from a licensed well drilling contractor stating that the sand and gravel aquifer is not accessible on that customer's property, or a notarized copy of a legally binding homeowner’s association covenant which prohibits the customer from installing irrigation well. (3) That the Customer shall be responsible for the cost of the installation of the irrigation meter by the Okaloosa County Water and Sewer System as specified in Appendix A—User Charge Tables For Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance. The Customer shall be responsible for having a licensed plumber or licensed lawn irrigation contractor connect their irrigation system to the irrigation meter, after obtaining all required permits. Installation of an automatic rain sensor shutoff shall also be required. (4) That the total consumption of the Customer's domestic and irrigation meters shall be combined and subject to the inclining block rate structure for residential single family water consumption as specified in Appendix A—User Charge Tables For Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance. The consumption recorded by the irrigation meter shall not be subject to sewer consumption charges. The Board discourages the use of potable water for irrigation purposes and encourages the use of reclaimed water and sand and gravel aquifer wells for irrigation purposes, where available, for irrigation. Sec. 24-192. - Reclaimed water. The Board encourages the use of reclaimed water for irrigation, where available, and is progressively expanding its system. When available, the Board requires utilization in lieu of the potable water system. Sec. 24-193. - Fire line connections. For fire connections to provide fire sprinkler systems on private property including connection fees and costs, the connection fee and Capacity Expansion Charges shall be as designated and fixed in Appendix A—User Charge Tables For Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance. Connection Size In Inches is defined as Formatted: Font: Italic the nominal diameter of the dedicated fire line as it enters the building; should a dedicated fire line enter multiple buildings, the Connection Size In Inches is defined as the nominal diameter of the dedicated fire line where it Formatted: Font: Italic Page 38 of 118 connects to the distribution system (public or private). The actual cost of construction of any line required to make the connection will be charged to the Customer in addition to the charges specified herein. The cost of construction may include a fifteen percent administrative charge, added to the subtotal of material, labor, and contracted services. Customers with fire connections shall pay a monthly charge for availability as designated and fixed in Appendix a—User Charge Tables for Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance. In the case of multiple unit buildings or facilities, the Owner of the real property shall be responsible for the payment of the monthly fire line charges as specified in Appendix A, even if the domestic water service is individually metered. Fees for fire line connections to provide sprinkler systems must be paid in advance. Should the Board have reason to believe that water is being used from any fire line connection for other than fire protection purposes, then the Board shall install a detector check. Should the detector check indicate such use, then the Owner shall be required to furnish and pay for the installation of a fire line meter in addition to other penalties imposed by the Board. Secs. 24-194. - 24-210. - Reserved. Page 39 of 118  DIVISION 5. - ASSESSMENTS, CAPACITY EXPANSION CHARGES, SEWER REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS Subdivision I. - In General Subdivision II. - Wastewater Treatment Subdivision I. - In General Sec. 24-211. - Water and sewer assessments. Sec. 24-212. - Capacity expansion charge, date of charge and extended payment. Sec. 24-213. - Multiple users defined. Sec. 24-214. – Deferral of payment of capacity expansion charges for economic development purposes. Secs. 24-2154—24-230. - Reserved. Sec. 24-211. - Water and sewer assessments. The Board officially finds that there are instances where the Board may find it expedient to cooperate with the cities and/or residents in the Okaloosa County Service Area under an agreement between the cities and/or residents and the Board, under which the County will provide water and/or sewer improvements, and will assess the Owners of property on a front-foot basis for said improvements, such assessment not to exceed the measure of the charge which the Board fixes in this article unless specifically stated otherwise herein. Sec. 24-212. - Capacity expansion charge, date of charge and extended payment. The Board finds and declares that on and after the date of passage of this article, for each new connection to the water and/or sewer system, the fee unless otherwise specified by an acquisition agreement (related to non-county water and/or sewer system acquisition) shall be at a minimum, the amount specified in Appendix A—User Charge Tables For Okaloosa County Water and Sewer User Charge Ordinance for each equivalent residential unit (ERU), based upon ERU equivalencies as specified in the aforementioned Appendix A, payable in advance of the issuance of a construction permit, to defray the cost of providing the sanitary sewer lines and wastewater treatment and disposal plant capacity to serve such area. Such sums shall be paid by cash, certified check or partial payment contract within 90 days from the date that the service becomes available as applied to sewer system extension into areas where sanitary sewer service is not available. (1) The partial payment plan shall apply to the total charges in such amounts as are respectively set out above, including the amount of any penalty, and shall be the cash rate plus a charge of ten percent of the total cash basis, such ten percent to include recording and cancellation fees, interest and agreement preparation costs. If the partial payment plan is elected, the initial payment shall be ten percent of the charges as identified plus an amount equal to a monthly payment of $20.00 water and/or $75.00 sewer. Thereafter, amount noted above shall be billed monthly, with the last payment amount being any unpaid balance. (2) The partial payment plan shall only be available in those instances where the customer is currently being supplied with water or sewer services through a private well and/or septic tank located on the specific parcel of property that is being required to connect to the Board’s service as the result of the extension of Board’s water or sewer lines contiguous to the parcel of property to be served, and is intended to offset the impact to customers financially affected by the Board’s water and sewer connection requirement. (3) Effective with the passage of this article, any existing structures or facilities where the correct number of water and/or sewer capacity expansion charge ERUs have not been paid, shall be considered as having been Page 40 of 118  paid if the sewer has been connected as defined in this article for more than five years prior to the adoption of this article. This section shall only apply to capacity expansion fee